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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23085238">Welcome To The Jungle</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caesar_Of_Rome/pseuds/Caesar_Of_Rome'>Caesar_Of_Rome</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Rhett &amp; Link</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Assistant Director/Cook Josh, Clueless Link, Director Rhett, M/M, Tags Subject to Change, Videographer Link</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 11:27:42</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,506</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23085238</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caesar_Of_Rome/pseuds/Caesar_Of_Rome</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Link, a starving videographer who works a dead end job for world renowned Don John Productions.</p>
<p>Rhett, a professional yet little known nature Director, has a once in a lifetime opportunity to film a docuseries across the plains of Sub Saharan Africa.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Link Neal/Original Male Character(s), Rhett McLaughlin/Josh Scherer, Rhett McLaughlin/Link Neal, Rhett McLaughlin/Original Male Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>His morning went as smoothly as usual. He heard his alarm go off from the phone on the wooden night stand and instantly slapped the off button. Tossing aside the fluffy whool comforter, he rose to stand at his full giant-like height and stretched his arms out wide which caused his shoulders to crack in multiple spots. The smell of freshly brewed coffee seemed to buzz his system to life and the sunlight streaming into his room kissed his bare skin warmly. Before opening his eyes, he hummed a small prayer of appreciation for how blessed he was and how far he's come to be where he was right now. Finally, he opened them and was greeting by the wonderfully familiar sight of his bedroom. The Zebra print carpet was fluffy between his toes, the cherry wood floorboards beneath it matching the walls exactly. Hanging above the night stand was a triple stacked picture frame of beautiful sceneries that he had taken himself over the years, the top being a picture of a farm during sunset in North Carolina, the middle being a floor-up shot of the Yakushi-Ji Temple in Japan, and the bottom being from one of his ski trips on the Austrian Alps.<br/>
Turning to his left he was suddenly faced with a choice. Should he step out onto the balcony and bask in the morning or go to his laptop on the glass top desk and check his E-Mails first? It should have been a fairly simple task, seeing as he had all the time in the world this morning to do both, but his hangover was beginning to dawn on him causing him to remember the previous night's events. He had gotten an extremely intriguing E-Mail and in a burst of happiness went out, got absolutely smashed, and now he was gazing at a lovely young man tangled in his sheets. Sun kissed skin, silky chocolate brown hair, and full lips he had loved so much the night prior.<br/>
The only thing that could take his eyes off of his sleeping partner was the feeling of soft arms enveloping him delicately, the feeling of another pair of pouty lips creating a trail of kisses from the back of his neck to his ear lobe.<br/>
"शुभ प्रभात, कामुक~"<br/>
(Good morning, sexy~)<br/>
The voice behind him was soft and sweet, the breath carrying to him and amplifying the wonderful stench of strong black coffee. He turned his head a bit and grinned softly.<br/>
"सुबह. व्यंजन?"<br/>
(Morning. Cooking?")</p><p>"जब तक आप हमारी सेवाओं के लिए दोगुना भुगतान नहीं करते हैं."<br/>
(Not unless you pay double for our services.)<br/>
The minx of a young man with untamed obsodion bed head and dark stubble grinned devilishly. He knew how to haggle and persuade, and this man had more than enough stashed to pay them both for months.<br/>
The man inhaked deeply through his nose and released the excess in a large open mouthed yawn. "No, I'd better not keep you. But I will pay extra." As he spoke, he reached for his phone and opened his CashApp to transfer his next payment to the boy who gawked at the notification.<br/>
"वैसे यह बहुत अधिक हो सकता है..!"<br/>
(Well that may be too much!)<br/>
He protested, but was cut off by the man raising his hand. "I know you both need it and I'm happy to give it. It's no loss. I promise." He tossed his phone onto the table and wrapped his arms around the young man who followed suit, gently stroking his fingers through the man's mane and beard.<br/>
"मेरे शेर."<br/>
(My lion.)<br/>
Both shared a blissfully languid kiss until the other began to stir in the bed. The brown haired boy reached to the nightstand where his own phone sat.<br/>
"क्या समय हुआ है?"<br/>
(What's the time?)<br/>
He rubbed his left eye with the heel of his palm and when he saw the digital clock read strictly 9:45 AM on the lock screen he all but raced to his feet to collect his clothes.<br/>
"Sai, हमें जाना है!"<br/>
(Sai, we have to go!)<br/>
The boy threw on his shirt and rushed to the kitchen. The other, Sai, rolled his eyes and gave the bearded man another soft smooch.<br/>
"दिन का काम बुलावा."<br/>
(Day work calls.)<br/>
The bearded man simply nodded and unwrapped his arms from Sai, who collected his own clothes and looked to the closed laptop with a nervous furrow of his brow. He chewed a plump lip for a bit before turning to his lion.<br/>
"वादा करो तुम जिंदा लौट आओगे।."<br/>
(Promise you will come back safely.)<br/>
The large man, who was already half clothed in an orange hoodie and dark jeans, turned to the worried looking Sai and smiled brightly at him.<br/>
"Aww. Are you gonna miss me?" He pouting his lips as he poked fun, making the younger man blush and look away.<br/>
"शायद आपके पैसे."<br/>
(Maybe your money.)<br/>
Even through his huff, however, Sai still had trouble forcing down a smile. Rhett knew he couldn't help it, this guy was just naturally adorable. With a wink he stood straight and puffed out his chest. "I promise."<br/>
After he announced this, the room fell silent until the shout of the other man could be heard, rushing Sai along with him out of the room and the building.<br/>
The bearded man smiled and stepped out onto the balcony to look down at the street where Sai and the other sprinted down into a nearby alley towards the middle of town. They were both nice boys, just down on their luck. He had met them a few weeks after buying his vacation home here in South Mumbai sum 2 years ago, in a club downtown where they were prowling for a wealthy man to take care of them for the night.<br/>
He was glad he was there.<br/>
As he reminisced and gazed out over the broad city, he could hear his phone buzzing from the nightstand where he'd tossed it. From the specific ring tone he could easily tell who was calling and made no hurry to enter the room again, close both white trim French doors individually, tie the curtains together to allow the sunlight into the room, and turn on his laptop. Just before the caller was sent to voicemail, the man snatched up the device and answered, throwing the call on speaker.<br/>
"RHETT, WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!"<br/>
His Assistant Director Josh's angry shout echoed against every wall. He didnt mind though, simply sitting with one leg folded beneath his rump on the desk chair  as he typed away on his laptop.<br/>
"ARE YOU STILL AT HOME?! Rhett, how do you expect me to keep my job as detail scheduler if you DON'T follow the schedule?"<br/>
"I dont expect you to loose your job because I'm not firing you." Rhett answered flatly as he opened his E-mail. Josh's sigh was heavy and Rhett could picture the man pinching the bridge of his nose causing his thick framed glasses to slide up his face. "I really need you over here right now. You did get the E-mail right? From Don John Productions."<br/>
Rhett was running a hand through his beard as he listened to Josh and read the mentioned E-mail. Reading it now, it maybe wasn't exactly something to go haywire over. It was simply an invitation for him and Josh to meet with the Producer and Assistant Producer of Don John Productions. It didnt even specify about what they wanted to talk about, but he knew it had to be either good or extremely awful.<br/>
With a nod he closed the laptop and placed it carefully in his laptop bag. "Yeah, I got it."</p><p>"Good. I was able to talk back and forth with the Assistant Producer and we have our interview at 6 PM tomorrow which gives us just enough time to get to the airport today, dont worry I already got our tickets, get there, get to our hotel at 10 AM and get in a few hours of sleep. But only if you cooperate and get your ass down here right now." </p><p>Rhett was already packing a spare suitcase full enough for at least a three day trip, confirming that he had already called for an Uber that would be at his house in 6 minutes. Josh huffed and grumbled something like "should've been here earlier." before they both exchanged farewells and hung up the call.<br/>
He only packed a few extra items such as a travel sized toiletry bag, a round tub of his own specially crafted beard and hair pomade, and a deck of playing cards. He was actually very ecstatic to visit with the producers as it would be a huge break for him and Josh. The two were small time documentarians who never could stick with one crew. When they met a few years after high school and started their dream pursuit to be blockbuster movie makers they started by landing small jobs for even smaller companies doing commercials for local shops and strange foreign car companies. After doing that for a few years, they managed to grow a bit into working for different local news networks as contract jobs that never lasted for more than 2 years. As of the past few months they havn't been able to pick up many big jobs, mostly relying on the Ad revenue from their Youtube channel Merry Magical Evening where they would upload vlogs and adventurous videos during their travels from place to place. Thank god the two found it relatively easy to save money, going by their shared Envelope System.<br/>
Though sometimes they would cheat and buy a brand new device replacement for full price or over pay two young men for their wonderful services... So long as they did it for a long lasting wholesome reason, neither had any reason to argue over their very few slip ups in budget. </p><p>Suddenly Rhett could feel his phone vibrating again to notify him that his ride had finally arrived to take him to Josh. So grabbing his laptop back and suitcase, h eww locked up his vacation home and headed to the street.</p><p>●○●○●○●○●○●○●○</p><p>After a good 20 minutes of awful morning traffic and the driver's need to get pissed at everyone who cut him off or drove too slow, Rhett was finally dropped off at the industrial warehouse Josh was at. This was their Mumbai studio that the owner was kind enough to let them borrow for a.... safest word being HEFTY price. Slipping in through the side door Rhett found that the lights were already on to illuminate the huge space. It was decorated with lightbulbs on strings cobwebbing across the ceiling, a metal staircase in the corner of the room leading to the second floor which held Josh's bedroom and a long wall of white bookshelves covered in hardback novels and fake plants. Rhett walked further into the middle of the room towards a plush grey couch in front of an old box television where he set his suitcase and flipped onto the furniture piece. "Oh JooooooooOOOOosh!" He called out in his most innocent childlike impression as he sprawled out across the expanse of the sofa, though it couldn't fully contain his near 7 ft. body causing his limbs to spill over at every angle.<br/>
His closed his eyes and from the top floor he could hear angry stomping through Josh's room, down the staircase, towards the couch, and was suddenly startled when a pin bounced off of his nose and to the floor beside him. He shot up into a sitting position to meet glares with a thoroughly pissed Josh who stood with strong arms crossed before poking a finger into Rhett's chest.<br/>
"You cant keep pulling this crap." He sneered and bent to pick up the pin he threw. Rhett sighed and rested against the cushions again. "Sorry. I went drinking and-"</p><p>"And picked up those village guys again, I know how you work by now." He cut in as he scratched down a few notes in a pocket notepad he was carrying. The taller huffed and rubbed his eyes a bit.</p><p>"Okay. So I got our tickets, you already packed I see so that's good. The flight is going to be about 12-13 hours and our flight departs in an hour and a half. We have just enough time to get a driver to get us there and find our plane."<br/>
Josh rambled off his notes quickly while simultaneously pacing and jotting down more notes. Rhett watched his ever so punctual friend grow more agitated and nervous with each passing second.<br/>
"Did they give anymore information about why they want us to interview?" He asked, causing Josh to snap his notebook closed.</p><p>"No! The most the Assistant Producer told me was that they've seen our work, they were both fairly impressed, and they would like to meet us in person to discuss buisness." He shrugged and stuffed the notepad into his back right pocket before going towards the stairs.<br/>
"I need to grab my stuff then I'm good. Can you get us a ride?"</p><p>"Already on it." Rhett showed his phone which showed he had already ordered another Uber for them. When Jsoh nodded and jogged back to his room Rhett rubbed a hand through his beard quizzically. If it was worth mentioning that they had been impressed by their work then they must want to see them about that. Maybe Don John Productions is looking for a new commercial or social media Ad to be made and they wanted them to lead it. Of course it wouldn't be something groundbreaking, but this was so far from bad. Don John was a reputable Nature Film company who had to pay handsomely for any sort of advertisement production. Finally, the two were landing on their long awaited big job after their dry spill.<br/>
Maybe they would earn enough to travel back home afterwards. Josh had kept talking about how much he missed California these past few weeks and it was understandable, he still had his whole family back there. The most Rhett had was his parents and Brother, Cole, back in North Carolina and to be honest, he missed them like crazy. It was getting to the point in his stay that he was starting to get tired of his staticky overseas phone calls that constantly get cut off midway due to horrible signal width.<br/>
Well, right now the most he could do was hope.</p><p>Breaking him away from his thoughts was the sound of Josh struggling down the stairs with all of his bags. His bulky camera back was slung across his torso, his bag of clothes was large, and he was a small bag of his own toiletries in his free hand. "Alright! Ready."<br/>
Rhett turned to him and chuckled at all of the luggage.<br/>
"Dang, brother, ya got enough there?"</p><p>"I have everything I need." Josh upturned his nose and waved his hand dismissively. "When does the ride get here?"<br/>
Rhett shrugged and checked his phone. "About 10 minutes."</p><p>"What?! There was no one closer?" Josh frustratedly ran a hand through his hair and slowly began his pacing again. He knew just how easily Josh got upset when his schedule wasn't closely met, especially when it pertained to something so important, but Rhett went to his side with a calm grin and placed an open handed slap on the other's shoulder. "Hey, what's a few minutes? It's fine. We're still gonna make it and everything is gonna be smooth as ice." He sliced his hand horizontally through the air in order to drive home his point.<br/>
Josh stopped his pacing and rubbed his temple annoyed before nodding softly. "Yeah, you're right. Sorry, I'm just... this could be a big opportunity. Like, bigger than we think." He sighed. "I want it all to be worthit, everything we're doing, y'know?"<br/>
Rhett listened carefully and his emerald eyes twinkled bravely atop the apples of his cheeks. "Yeah buddy, I know. It will, I promise."</p><p>The two shared eager smiles until Rhett's phone vibrated to announce the arrival of their ride. They scramble to grab everything and make sure they only have the essentials before rushing out and locking up the unit. Every time their trips in Mumbai came to an end, Josh would mention how much he would miss his unit but would come back to say that he was excited to move on as well.<br/>
The car ride was smooth, hardly any traffic until they got to the airport but they were swiftly dropped at the front. They read their tickets carefully while maneuvering through the crowd, trying not to loose one another, and hopping a trolley that was heading towards their station. They had made it just in time to find their port and have a few minutes to relieve themselves and get some food before they had board the plane.<br/>
13 hours, Rhett thought, and only a few hours of sleep when they get their. He already had enough back problems normally so he hoped the jet lag wouldn't damn near kill him before the interview. Once they found their seats they slipped in so Rhett was at the window and Josh sat between him and an ancient looking woman dressed in pearls and the biggest pink church he'd ever seen.<br/>
Once the plane was fired up and the runway began to shift, Rhett wrapped his neck pillow around his head and threw on a pair of sunglasses to ease him into sleep once again, the sounds around him helping him out. The screaming engine, the soft chattering, the clacking of keyboards on laptops and the flipping of book pages. He was easily lulled into slumber and his dreams were filled with hopes and happiness for the future.</p>
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<a name="section0002"><h2>2. NEXT DAY</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>His morning went as it always did.<br/>He didnt mean to, but he yet again slept through all three of his alarms. When he finally came around he picked up his phone only to be scared awake by the time on his screen. 10 AM?! He was supposed to be at work an hour ago!<br/>He threw his thin green sheet away from the bare mattress, leg getting tangled in it causing him to face plant to the scratchy carpet. "OOF!" He breathed harshly when the wind was knocked from him but forced himself to his feet so he could rush to the bathroom. He stared at himself in the mirror and groaned at his haggard appearance. Dark stubble that would just have to stay because of the time crunch, wild salt and pepper bed head that he wouldn't have time to style as he normally would, and bloodshot eyes that seem to be a darker shade of blue than normal.<br/>Ugh, of all the days to be late he needed to not be late today. His bosses wanted him to attend some big interview they had planned later in the day but after this slip up he would be lucky to even have his job once he got there. It wasn't often that he was late and whenever he was, he had a legitimately good reason. The first time he was a new hire and wasn't expecting major construction to block his way to work on his third day, the second time there was a wreck in front of him on the highway and he had to be stopped by the Constable for questioning, now this would be his third time and there was no good reason. Just that he'd stayed up too late finishing some work and watching TV.<br/>With a frustrated groan he rubbed his eyes raw and quickly threw himself into the shower, hardly being picky that the water was still freezing.</p><p>It seemed like in just the blink of an eye he was driving on the highway towards the office with his wet hair drying in the wind bellowing in from the open sunroof. He would have to try and dry style it once he got to work. His steely grey suit seemed to fit him too tight and his black tie was hanging too loose, he kept popping Altoids despite brushing his teeth with gum bruising strength and he kept scratching his unruly stubble that made him feel extremely self conscious.<br/>With racing thoughts and growing nervousness, he finally pulled into the parking lot, grabbed his satchel from the trunk of his Saturn, and raced to burst through the front door.<br/>"Hey Ellie!" He waved to the plump, kind blonde secretary who raised her brow at him with a smug grin. "Late again, Neal?"<br/>He turned to look at her with a slight pout. "H-have they said anything..?" His brows furrowed nervously. Ellie leaned back in her office chair and clicked her ballpoint pen a bit. "No. Only the Assistant Producer is here right now."<br/>Hearing this made him clap his hands and release a breath he hadn't fully realized he was holding. The Assistant Producer was the most laid back person he was sure he'd ever met and one had to go to over the top lengths to make him angry. With a rambling of thank yous to Ellie, he quickly made his way to his office where he slung the satchel across the back of his computer chair and flopped down in it to start up his laptop.<br/>"CHARLES!" A booming voice invaded his silent space nearly making him fall back in the chair. Spinning completely towards the doorway was was greeted by the mischievous grin of the Assistant Producer of Don John Productions, Kevin Kostelnik. Kevin was a man of medium, gangly build. Shoulder length hair slicked back to expose his narrow face and sharp jawline. He had a boyish look to him though he was dawning on his 30s. With a slow stride he sauntered to Charle's side who huffed softly. "S-sir, I told you, i prefer to be called Link."<br/>Kevin raised his hands. "You're right! Pardon me, Link." He smiled and looked him over with a quirked brow. "Wow you look rough. Stay at the club too late or something?"<br/>Link gulped and shrugged his shoulders. "Uh.. y-yeah. Long night, just got too carried away I guess."</p><p>"Mm." Kevin hummed with a slight nod. "Been there. So long as you're ready for this interview later." As he spoke he leaned back against Link's desk and gripped his shoulder with a grin. "I promise you Link, this is going to get you places. Better places than in this stuffy office crunching numbers and worrying over media marketing." He waved dismissively to the computer. Kevin genuinely was a nice guy and actually cared for his employees and ever since Link began working for Don John Productions he seemed to have a fascination with him. He cared about Link's wellbeing outside of work and always wanted to be certain that things were going well for him. Though, that could be for a number of reasons.<br/>Link had been living in Brighton for going on 2 years now yet he still felt new and out of place. It was because after his graduation from the University of California that he was immediately offered a job as a media marketer for DJP. It might not be what he majored in, but it was a start. He took the first flight he could with what little money he had and began his new life here. It wasn't hard since he really didnt have an old life to leave behind. Just a slightly doting mother and father who hadn't bothered to give him a call since he left.<br/>Since he started working here, Kevin always seemed to wonder why Link took the marketing job when he majored in Videography. Well, it was because he didnt have real world experience outside of college with Videography like everyone else and the Producer wouldn't offer him that kind of job unless he did. Of course he could excel, but it would be an extremely slow process. If he were to get the needed experience right now, the most he would move up to was Production Assistant (the typical starting place for anyone in this industry) or maybe ever Set Designer.<br/>It wasn't that he didnt find it intriguing to move up, it's just that where he is now makes him feel safe and financially secure. It was alot easier to loose your job as a PA and right now he wasn't willing to take that chance.</p><p>He eventually returned his attention to Kevin who was now going on about his weekend and how he had to go to brunch with his family and OH, how Aunt Lydia hit the Mamosas too hard again and etc., etc., etc. He did enjoy hearing about other people's time, especially if they were passionate about sharing it. He listened carefully, giving the occasional basic response, as he typed away on his computer to go through his E-Mails and start in on his work load. After a few minutes, a heavy slap landed between his shoulder blades. "Well, I best be off. Get yourself all pretty and I'll see you at the interview." He winked jokingly before sauntering from the office and closing the door behind him.<br/>Link felt a shiver run up his spine when the man winked. He knew how to press his buttons just right. Shaking his head, he cleared his throat softly and read his E-Mail he had recieved. It was vague in just the that way he knew the Producer liked to be mysterious about certain things. And thing was definitely a mysterious thing. The most he could make of it was that he was wanted at an interview at 6 PM along with two special visitors. Honestly, they were probably just going to be hiring new people and they wanted him there to crunch some numbers and figure up the gains and losses of hiring new people. He'd done that type of thing before but he had been told straight forward about it. He was unclear of what he should be doing at this interview and it started to give him anxiety, so he slowly pushed away from the laptop and looked out of his window. His office was on the second floor, giving him a damn near perfect view of the city. He loved it here. Big cities were more his comfort zone despite being raised in the smallest of North Carolina towns.<br/>He breathed in deeply through his nose and sighed to calm himself down before returning to his laptop where he pulled up the webcam to see himself as he tried his best to make himself look presentable. Do up the hair, tighten the tie, and flatten down the creases in his suit. All except for the stubble, he was ready to go into this interview and crunch the hell outta some numbers.</p>
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